Workplace Bullying In India: A Sneak Peek

The untimely death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput (June 14) has stirred up a controversy across the country. Public, especially netizens have not only raised their voices against existing nepotism within the entertainment industry, but also ended up boycotting some A-listers including the Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt.

Three months down the line, the case continues to make headlines as the actor’s girlfriend Rhea Chakrabarty has been accused and recently convicted for possessing drugs. As the drama continues to unfold taking various colours including holding illegal drugs, shaming and name-calling Bengali women as ‘gold-diggers’, ‘witch’ and ‘black magicians’—one issue that needs attention is ‘bullying’ and its effects on the overall health of the victim.

Interestingly, the issue of bullying has been brushed under the carpet amidst the media hype and trials. Nonetheless, its intensity cannot be undermined.

While bullying at schools (in western countries as well as India) is an oft-talked phenomenon, bullying at workplace has somewhat never received its due attention. Harassment at workplace has been discussed time and again, which was further augmented by the #MeToo movement in 2018.

However, keeping in mind the importance of addressing mental health (that supposedly triggered by Rajput’s untimely death), its time to take note how bullying at workplace too can impact mental health immensely.

Workplace bullying is a still relatively recent issue in occupational health research. It is defined as situations where a person repeatedly and over a period of time is exposed to harassment, abuse, offenses, or social exclusion, placing the individual in an asymmetrical position where he/she is not able to defend himself/herself from unethical behaviour. Its occurrence in workplaces is high, as demonstrated by a systematic review of 102 estimates, which identified an overall prevalence of 14.6%. Also, bullying can be considered one of the greatest threats for workers’ well-being, reinforcing the importance of better understanding its causes and mechanisms.

India is no exception. According to a study conducted by US-based jobsite CareerBuilder.in, nearly 55% Indians became victims of workplace bullying at some point in time. The percentage clearly reveals that more than half of India’s workforce have been through a traumatic experience. The two most common forms of bullying reported by employees was of being falsely accused of mistakes they didn't commit (33%) followed by being ignored, wherein their comments were dismissed or not acknowledged (32%).

Few signs of Workplace Bullying include the following:

• Constant criticism.
• Removal of duties without reason.
• Overbearing supervision or monitoring.
• Threats, aggression, and shouting.
• Being put down, picked on (either in private or in front of others), and made to feel like the butt of the jokes.
• Being excluded and ignored.
• Having malicious rumours spread
• Quoting a recent Forbes report, "PeConstant criticism.
• Removal of duties without reason.
• Overbearing supervision or monitoring.
• Threats, aggression, and shouting.
• Being put down, picked on (either in private or in front of others), and made to feel like the butt of the jokes.
• Being excluded and ignored.
• Having malicious rumours spread

Quoting a recent Forbes report, "People become targets (of bullying) because something about them is threatening to the bully. Often, they are more skilled, more technically proficient, have a higher EQ or people just like them better." As per experts, people who fit into the ecosystem often become victims of workplace bullying. Some are bullied for their ethnic differences, some become victims because their work ethics are different and better from their peers and have the potential to outperform their colleagues—but whatever the reason of bullying might be, the malicious treatment can leave victims psychologically disturbed and mentally drained often pushing them to take extreme steps (sometimes taking away one’s life).

Most bullies tend to have some common traits—they are manipulative, like to be in control and treat everything and everyone as competition. When they feel less competent and know that they cannot win the competition on their own, they resort to bullying those they consider a threat in order to feel one in control and power. In most cases, the bullies are extremely insecure about their themselves, and hence to find a way to pull down someone (especially a competent junior) just to give their false ego a boost.

Bullying can impact an individual’s mental health to a great extent. Some of these include the following:

1.  Increased stress and anxiety

2.  High blood pressure

3.  Frequent panic attacks

4.  Trouble sleeping or even concentrating on work

5.  Loss of self-esteem

6.  Lowered productivity

7.  Having trouble making decisions

Have you ever experienced bullying at your workplace? How about sharing some….???

The article was first published here